Izzy had other ideas.
As I was preparing breakfast for all my dogs, I heard Izzy make a cry that from experience I knew sounded like she was in stage 2 labor. Izzy had spent the night on my bed (as she usually does), but had not woken me up with any furious digging (nesting behavior) that would indicate stage 1 labor. As all my other dogs were dancing around my feet waiting on breakfast, I knew that the only way I could get to Izzy would be to get everyone else in their crates. So I hurried up with breakfast prep, and got everyone in their crates with their breakfast.
I then ran into my bedroom to find Izzy with a puppy sack half hanging out of her. I ran to got some of my supplies and spread a big clean mat out on the floor for Izzy and put Izzy on the mat. By this time Izzy had delivered the sack with the puppy, but the umbilical cord was still attached to the placenta which was still inside Izzy. Izzy started chewing on the umbilical cord. I got my fingers between Izzy and the puppy so that Izzy could not accidently bite the puppy. I grabbed a washcloth and started clearing away the sack and vigorously rubbing the puppy to stimulate the puppy to breathe. I rubbed and rubbed, but I could not get the puppy to breathe. Izzy finished chewing the umbilical cord so that it separated and then started licking the puppy. But the puppy was not breathing. Finally I picked up the puppy and did mouth to snout resuscitation. But when I picked up the puppy, the puppy was cold so I suspected that it was futile. After more rubbing by me and licking by Izzy, we finally gave up. Izzy gave the body a few more licks, but then settled down next to the body.
Naturally I felt terrible. Even more so when I investigated and saw that the puppy had been a girl.
I started packing up and putting things in my car. I wanted to get Izzy as close to NC State as possible in case of a problem. But Izzy was not waiting, and soon cried out that puppy number two was coming.
Puppy number two was large (and I guessed correctly that it was a boy). I though we were in trouble. But after some wiggling of the half-delivered sack on my part and more pushing by Izzy, finally the puppy was born. Again Izzy attacked the umbilical cord, while I protected the puppy and tore the sack away from the puppy's face and started rubbing. This time our efforts were successful and the puppy started to squeak, which meant that the puppy was breathing.
At that point I gave up on trying to get to NC State. I put dry towels underneath Izzy to soak up the fluids and blood from the first two births. I trimmed and put iodine on the umbilical cord of puppy number two. I got my puppy incubator set up and warmed up. Izzy snuggled with puppy number two while I started to clean up the mess from my furious digging in my supply box. Izzy threw up the two after-births (placentas) that she had delivered and eaten when I was not looking. So I go to clean up that mess also.
About twenty minutes later, Izzy went into hard labor again. I put puppy number two in the incubator to keep him warm. This time puppy number three just plopped out. Again Izzy chewed, I rubbed, and we were rewarded with a puppy who quickly squeaked. When I looked, I saw that puppy number three was a boy.
I got more clean towels underneath Izzy. I took puppy number two out of the incubator and put him with his brother next to Izzy. Izzy was licking the puppies and tucking the puppies underneath her to keep them warm. I got Izzy some food and water which she devoured.
At this point, I locked Izzy in my bedroom and got all my other dogs out of their crates - where they had been patiently waiting - and outside to potty. Then after leaving Izzy with more food and water, I took all my other dogs to my petsitter. I like my mothers to have a few days of peace and quiet without any interference from the rest of my pack.
When I returned home, the first order of business was to get my whelping box (nursery box) set up in my bedroom next to my bed. First I put the whelping nest in my home-made base. The whelping nest is a rubber-coated heating unit connected to a digital thermostat. The nest will help keep the puppies warm. Loss of body temperature is one of the leading causes of newborn mortality. A cold puppy can not digest food. On top of the whelping nest I put a mat and my whelping box.
Next I put colored collars on the puppies and weighed them. Puppy number two got a red collar; puppy number three a blue collar. Red weighed 220 grams; Blue 184 grams. In my experience these are nice weights for newborn Norwich puppies. Both of these puppies are going to be red, or possibly red grizzle.
I made sure that the puppies were nursing. It is important that newborn puppies get that "first milk" (colostrum) in the first 12 to 24 hours of life.
I went to bed that night feeling very sad about the girl puppy that did not make it.
Morning picture. It is not unusual for a mother to have vaginal discharges for several weeks after birth. So besides my job as butler to bring Izzy food and water, the butler also has to change the bedding in the whelping box every day.
Formal pictures. The puppies gained weight in the first twenty-four hours, indicating that Izzy has milk.
What I saw when I looked in the whelping box several times during the day. Izzy only left the puppies a few times during the day to go outside to potty. The puppies are sticking close to mommy in the corner of the whelping box, both for Izzy's warmth and because that is where the food is (mommy's milk). The puppies have not started yet to use the heated whelping nested.
By the evening, Blue had joined the 200-gram weight club.
Besides bringing Izzy food (kibble) and water, the butler also twice a day brings her a big heaping serving spoon of cottage cheese. Izzy needs calcium to make milk. Hypocalcemia (low calcium) can be deadly to nursing mothers. If you take a nursing mother to the vet, even for something unrelated, almost always the first thing the vet will do is check the mother's calcium level.
Making milk is hard work! Many times in the quiet of the night, I will hear Izzy panting heavily, in order to get rid of the excess heat her body generates while making milk.
Besides weighing the puppies twice a day, I also weigh Izzy. During this first week, I also take Izzy's temperature once a day to make sure that Izzy has not developed any infections picked up while whelping.
Both puppies gained weight last night. But at the evening weighing, I noticed that Red had not gained any weight. This is worrying. Part of my job as a breeder is to worry ... especially these first few weeks when things can go wrong very quickly.
My initial thought was that Red had a form of colic; that he had eaten too much and that his tummy hurt. But - remembering how Red had not gained any weigh yesterday - I was also concerned that Red might have "puppy lung development disease". Puppies (and human babies) lungs are not fully developed at birth, but continue to develop afterwards. "Puppy lung development disease" (PLDD) is the name breeders have given when this development goes wrong, and the puppies start having difficulty breathing. It is horrible to watch as a puppy cries and gasps for air before finally dying. No cure is known for PLDD. I have had puppies die of puppy lung development disease and I have contributed their bodies to research on the problem. PLDD is thought to be a genetic condition, and may be related to a human baby condition (alveolar capillary dysplasia).
Morning picture. Note that Red is not nursing and has his head and neck extended. This had me increasingly worried about puppy lung development disease.
Today I brought my other dogs home from my petsitter. Mommy Izzy had been leaving the whelping box, but now stays with the puppies. Izzy growls when any of my other dogs came near the whelping box, warning everyone to keep away from her puppies.
I checked on the puppies several times during the day (as I normally do) but paying special attention to Red. Fortunately I did not see any signs that Red was having difficulty breathing. And Red's weight was up at the evening weigh-in. So hopefully Red just had colic last night. But Blue has now pulled ahead of Red in their weight race.
Morning picture. Blue is up by Izzy.
When born, puppies are blind and deaf. Newborn puppies have a good sense of smell, and they can sense warmth. They use their sense of smell and ability to sense warmth to find their mother. If they can not find mommy they will cry and (as long as they have energy) crawl in ever widening circles to find their mother. It always amazes me that instinctively puppies know to find a nipple and how to suckle.
I saw both puppies today sleeping on their side. I like to see puppies sleeping on their side. If a puppy sleeps too much on its stomach, its chest bones - bones being very plastic - can flatten and the puppy can have a difficult time learning to walk. By the time I grabbed my camera, Red had rolled over.
Blue joined the 300-gram club today, maintaining his lead over his brother Red.
The puppies only eat and sleep (mostly sleep). What I look for when I check on the puppies is that I want to see a sleeping puppy "twitch" or "jerk". One has to stare at a puppy to see this. The puppy will be still, but all of a sudden the puppy will twitch or jerk, and then be still again. It is thought that this movement is caused by nerves growing.
Izzy guarding her puppies. Izzy has told the other dogs in my house to stay away from her puppies. My other dogs seem to have gotten the message. While my other dogs sometimes look into the whelping box, Izzy's low growls remind them not to get in.
Red joined the 300-gram club today, but is still behind his brother Blue.
The puppies can only crawl, but they are efficient crawlers! They look like seals crawling on ice. They move from the warm welping nest to the cooler corners of the whelping box (and back) ... or to find mommy and her milk.
As long as the weather is nice, I try to take a daily long walk with my dogs on one of the forest trails around my house. Today Izzy started to go on our walk, but then decided before we disappeared into the forest that she had better stay with her puppies and so ran back to the house.
The puppies on my bed while the butler changed the bedding in the whelping box.
The puppies are one-week old today and weigh as follows:
Note that the puppies have almost doubled their weight ... and their size ... since birth.
Izzy again started to follow the rest of us but again decided to go back to her puppies rather than go on our moring walk.
What I like to see ... puppies nursing.
Newborn puppies can not pee or poop on their own. Mommy Izzy has to lick their bellies to stimulate the puppies to pee and poop. Izzy then drinks the pee and eats the poop, most likely to keep the area clean. In the wild Izzy would not have a butler who changes the bedding in the whelping box every day.
Red has regained his lead over his brother Blue in their weight race.
Puppies nursing. When mommy is on her side, you sometimes can see the heads of the puppies bobbing. A puppy will use its arms to push against mommy's stomach, no doubt to encourage mommy's milk to let down into the nipple. This will force the head to move backwards. Then the arms of the puppy will relax, and the head will move forward. As the puppy is nursing, the head bobs back and forth. You can just see the pink of Red's tongue, which he uses to make a seal with Izzy's nipple while nursing.
Both puppies joined the 400-gram club today, with Red increasing his lead over Blue.
While mommy Izzy was having breakfast, Red decided that it was the perfect time to get some milk.
Just like people, while sleeping puppies often yawn, stretch, and roll over. Today I spotted Blue sleeping on his back. But before I could get my camera, Blue rolled over.
Puppies sleeping on their sides.
Besides weighing the puppies, I also weigh Izzy. It is hard to find the right amount to feed Izzy. Normally Izzy gets 90 mL of kibble a day; sometime a bit more if I think Izzy has gotten too skinny. (Izzy is very active.) Now Izzy is getting a heaping serving spoon of cottage cheese twice a day, plus 240 mL of kibble. Izzy needs extra nutrition to make milk for the puppies. Recently Izzy's weight has been drifting up, so I have been cutting down on the amount of kibble. I know from experience that as the puppies get larger, I will need to again increase the amount I feed Izzy.
Blue has pulled close to brother Red in their weigh race, and is currently only 3 grams behind brother Red.
Besides weighing Izzy, another thing that I check mommy Izzy for each day is any sign of mastitis - inflamation of any of Izzy's teats. I flip Izzy over - Izzy is used to me doing this - and look for any redness, plus use my hand to feel for any abnormally warm or cold teats, or any nipples that seems abnormally hard. Mastitis can come on quickly and could be deadly to Izzy if not caught early.
What I like to see - fat little puppies nursing.
Red joined the 500-gram club today, maintaining his lead over brother Blue.
Izzy today decided it was ok to leave her puppies and go on the morning walk with my dogs. We were gone for about an hour.
I noticed while weighing the puppies today that their front nails were starting to get long. Dogs actually have claws, not nails. So that the puppies would not scratch Izzy's belly while nursing, I used a human nail clipper to blunt the tips of the puppies' claws on their front paws.
Blue joined the 500-gram club today, but has again fallen behind brother Red.
Blue opened both eyes when I picked him up this morning, but then closed his eyes and went back to sleep after the morning weigh-in. Red kept his eyes firmly shut when I picked him up to weigh him. The same thing happened at the evening weigh-in; Blue opened his eyes, but Red kept his eyes closed.
The puppies are two-weeks old today, and weigh as follows:
At two-weeks of age, there are several new things for the puppies.
First, the puppies will no longer be weighed on my "puppy scale" (postal scale), but on my "big dog" scale. The advantage of my big dog scale is that it has a feature that averages the weight over five seconds. Previously when the puppies moved, the weight displayed on my puppy scale would fluctuate ... and sometimes I was having to guess at the weight. The disadvantage of my big scale is that it only displays to the nearest 5 grams. But given how big the puppies are now this is not a problem.
Second, the puppies now will only be weighed once a day.
Third, the puppies were wormed with pyrantel. This will happen every two weeks going forward until the puppies are twelve weeks old. I used a small syringe to squirt the worming medication into the mouths of the puppies. The amount of pyrantel depends on the size (weight) of the puppy. At this age it is just 0.1 mL (hardly more than a drop) of worming medication.
I also started mommy Izzy on another three-day course of worming with fenbendazole. This will be Izzy's last worming because of the puppies.
Fourth, I checked the puppies' eyes. Blue had opened both his eyes yesterday, and they would still open this morning. So I could check Blue off my worry list. (Sometimes puppy eyes open, but then close again ... necessitating a trip to the vet.) When I picked Red up this morning, he opened his right eye, but only partially opened his left eye. By the evening when I picked Red up, he opened both eyes. If eyes are not open or starting to open by two weeks of age then off to the vet we go. Fortunately no trip to the vet is yet needed for Izzy's puppies. I will checked Red's eyes tomorrow. If both open, then I can check Red's eyes off my worry list.
I had a scare today when I looked in the whelping box. I thought I saw three puppies! But I quickly realized what had happened. On one of her trips outside, Izzy (who is a mighty huntress) had caught and killed a vole. Izzy must have carried the dead body inside to the whelping box without my noticing. Izzy might have been bringing food to the puppies, although it is a bit early for Izzy to want the puppies to start eating on their own. More likely Izzy brought the body back to snack on later. When Izzy was distracted, I gathered up and disposed of the dead vole.
Also notice the noses of some of my other dogs also checking on the puppies. Whenever I go to check on the puppies, some of my other dogs follow me and also check on the puppies.
Red opened both his eyes this morning, so I can check that off my worry list.
Both Red and Blue joined the 600-gram club today, but Red has continued to pull ahead of Blue in their weight race.
On my bed while the butler does the daily change of the bedding in the whelping box.
Red yawning. Sleeping all day is so tiring!
Red joined the 700-gram club today.
13 Sep
Blue joined the 700-gram club today.
While the butler changed the bedding in the whelping box, and as the sheets on my bed were also being changed, I put the puppies in "uncle" JC's pen. The word "uncle" is honorific, actually JC is a half-brother to the puppies (same mother, different father). JC is my "special needs" boy. JC has a fluid-filled lesion of unknown origin at C2 in his spinal cord. JC walks funny, and is fecal and urine incontinent. So at night JC sleeps in a little pen in my bedroom.
The puppies were a little startled by this new location, plus seeing some of my older puppies and dogs.
I believe that the puppies are starting to generate their own body heat. When I pick up the puppies they seem warm. It is hard to tell if this warmth is from body heat or because the puppies have been on the heated whelping nest. I want the puppies to generate their own body heat. Body heat gives the puppies additional protection against viruses and bacteria. One of the things on my worry list is the canine herpes virus, which has a very high mortality rate for newborn puppies.
Red joined the 800-gram club today.
The puppies are three-weeks old today, and weigh as follows:
Note that Blue joined the 800-gram club today.
Being three weeks-old, my pessimism turns to cautious optimisism that the puppies will survive. So now it is time to name the puppies.
My naming convention is to use names from the plays of William Shakespeare ... or the names of actors in Shakepeare's plays ... or names from "spin-offs" of Shakespeare's plays, etc. Sometimes I have to be creative. I try to pick from something that I have seen or read recently. In this case it is Shakespeare's play "The Winter's Tale".
In addition to a formal (registered) name by which the puppies will be recorded with the American Kennel Club, I also need an inform "call name".
Now the closest thing to two brothers in the Winter's Tale play are the King of Sicily and the King of Bohemia who are described as "trained together in their childhoods; and there rooted betwixt them then such an affection". So the registered and call names of the puppies will be
Going forward, I will refer to the puppies by their new call names.
The puppies are making attempts to walk. Both can get up on their front legs. But when they try to get up and push off with their back legs, their back legs slide out from underneath them. Often they seem to go as much backwards as forwards. Leo seems a little better at the coordination than his brother Poli.
Now that the puppies can see, when mommy Izzy gets in the whelping box there is a mad scamble by the puppies to get to Izzy and her tasty milk.
I decided that now was the time to move the puppies during the day out to my living room. So I had the butler build the puppy playpen. My other dogs supervised and then enthusiastically greeted the puppies when I put the puppies in the playpen. The puppies did a little exploring of their new environment:
before crawling in the crate - which they recognized as a safe space - and falling asleep.
The only one who did not welcome the puppies to their new digs was mommy Izzy. Izzy had fed (nursed) the puppies after breakfast, but then went off into the nearby forest to hunt. With being gone so long from the puppies, Izzy had me worried with her absence. Izzy finally came back around noon. I showed Izzy where the puppies were and Izzy took up a postion to guard her puppies and rest after her hunting activities of the morning. When the puppies woke up, they crawled out of the crate to nurse.
In the evening I put the puppies back in their whelping box in my bedroom. This will be the routine going forward; in the puppy playpen during the day, and the whelping box at night.
When mommy Izzy is not around or if I have accidently left an opening, sometimes my older puppies get into either the whelping box or the puppy playpen. I know that they just want to play with Leo and Poli, but I worry about them being too rough with Leo and Poli. The older puppies like to pull off the elastic collars from around Leo and Poli's necks.
Leo joined the 900-gram club today.
The puppies spent the day in the crate in their playpen and did not come out for any exploring ... or any photos. Izzy seems to mostly nurse the puppies at night. I often wake up during the night and hear nursing sounds (suckling sounds). I guess this schedule leaves Izzy free to go off during the day and hunt.
Realizing in the evening when I was putting the puppies back in their whelping box that I had not taken any other pictures of the puppies, I took another picture of Izzy nursing the puppies. Izzy had just finished her bedtime meal of kibble and cottage cheese, and is eating a bedtime dental treat (a Greenie). Besides two large serving spoons of cottage cheese a day, I am currently feeding Izzy 180 mL of kibble. Izzy seems to be slowly loosing weight on this amount (which is what I want). Normally I only feed Izzy 90 mL of kibble a day.
Poli joined the 900-gram club today.
Breakfast. If mommy Izzy seems wet, it is because she had a run in the wet grass before breakfast. Note how Poli's rear legs are splayed out. This has me a bit worried that he may have difficulty learning to walk.
Today the puppies mostly slept outside of the crate in the playpen. Note how the puppies have themselves wedged between the crate and the fence.
The puppies sleeping in the crate in the playpen.
Both puppies put their snouts through the fence of their playpen today:
Today was the first day that I observed the puppies interacting with the toys in the playpen. Poli was grabing the knit toy and shaking it.
As soon as the puppies's eyes opened, they have been biting at each other. First, it was each other's ears. Now it has turned into full-blown wrestling. A friend calls it "bity-face". I think of it more like sumo wrestling - the objective being to push the other puppy over. Some pictures:
The puppies are four-weeks old today, and weigh as follows:
Leo is the first to join the 1-kilogram club.
Being four-weeks old, the puppies got another dose of the worming medication, pyrantel.
Puppies nursing. If you look closely you will see that while the puppies are nursing mommy Izzy has her snout up underneath the nearest puppy. Izzy is licking the puppy to stimulate the puppy to pee.
Leo got his head stuck inside a triangular pyramid plush toy. Rather than work his head back out, instead Leo just went to sleep.
Puppies nursing. And a closer view.
Puppies sleeping:
The puppies donated some DNA to science today. I swabbed the inside cheeks of each puppy with a cotton-tipped swab designed for collecting DNA (a Performagene swab). I sent the two swabs to Embark, a panel DNA testing company. In a month or so, Embark will return a report for each puppy telling how the DNA did on a panel of over a hundred DNA health tests. Now with one exception, I already know the results on the seven DNA health tests that are relevant for Norwich Terriers. (I know, because I know the results for the parents.) Embark will give me the answer for the one health test where I do not know the answer.
I saw Poli having a "puppy dream" today. Poli let out little yips and, even though he was on his side, Poli moved his legs. Perhaps Poli was chasing something in his dream.
Poli joined the 1-kilogram club today. This litter has not been much of a weight race, as Leo keeps in the lead with Poli following.
Izzy is inside the crate and the puppies are crawling inside. Why? Because that is where the milk is! Other times Izzy lies outside to let the puppies nurse.
At lunch time, the puppies were active and Izzy was off hunting. I decided it was time to see if the puppies would start eating solid food.
Since the puppies did so well at lunch, I repeated the experiment at dinner time to see if they were really ready to start eating. The chef prepared the same meal and again it was a success. Izzy - who had returned for her own dinner - was quite happy to clean up the leftovers.
At the bedtime meal (puppies start out being fed four times a day) the puppies only picked at their food. I am not sure if the puppies were tired of the same thing, or just wanted mommy's milk.
Being "nail" day at my house - all my dogs got their nails dremeled - I also clipped the puppies nails with my human nail clipper.
Leo sleeping on his back.
I saw Leo having a "puppy dream" today. Leo made "yipping" sounds.
And even though Leo was sleeping on his side, Leo's legs moved like
he was running.
While the puppies enjoyed the food prepared by the chef, the puppies
still prefer mommy Izzy's milk.
Leo taking an after-dinner nap.
Puppies in a crate.
Today I took Izzy and the puppies to my petsitter, Ali and
her family. The puppies will be with Ali
while the puppies' great-grandmother, Mandy, and I
travel to Pennsylvania for "Montgomery" week. Montgomery
week is the annual week-long celebration of all things
terrier in eastern Pennsylvania. Often "Montgomery" - the
terrier-only conformation show put on by the Montgomery
County Kenne Club - is the largest gathering of Norwich
Terriers in the world.
Poli on top of Ali's youngest child's rabbit.
More napping (Leo on back.)
Note how one of Leo's ears is down and the other up; while both of Poli's ears are down. As the puppies teethe, their ears will go up and down. Eventually for both Leo and Poli, both their ears will go up. Sometimes this does not happen until a puppy is several months old.
I clipped the puppies' nails (claws) today with my human nail clipper.
For dinner, the chef put some crumbled hard-boiled egg with the puppies' dinner of puppy kibble. The puppies enjoyed the new addition to their palate.
The puppies are seven-weeks old today and weigh as follows:
Puppies nursing while mommy Izzy cleans the puppies' bowl. Note how Izzy has one rear leg raised to let the puppies have access to her nipples.
With eight weeks of age, there are several changes for the puppies. Again, the puppies got wormed with pyrantel. Today I picked up both the whelping (nursery) box and the puppy playpen. Now the puppies will be fed in individual crates, which will allow me to see how much each is eating. Also I will no longer weigh the puppies daily, but only once a week. And finally, the puppies will now sleep at night in individual crates ... which will mean that I will be getting up approximately every two hours to take them outside to potty.
Poli waiting for the vet. And another picture while waiting for the vet.
Poli being evaluated by the vet.
Leo being evaluated by the vet. And another picture of Leo being evaluated by the vet.
My vet said that both Leo and Poli were fine, and both puppies have both balls descended.
After getting their shots the puppies received lots of hugs from the staff:
Later in the day I did not observe the puppies having any reaction to their first puppy shots.
Also I was informed that the new owners of Poli plan to call him "Rocky", so going forward so will I.
Rocky got off the scale when I took the picture but the weight shown was his weight while he was on the scale.
Both puppies were very active this morning and did not want to stay on the scale for their birthday picture. Note that Rocky's ears have started to come up.
The puppies are approximately half the weight of their mother Izzy.
